3 Expensive Vices That Will Destroy Your Health And Your Wallet

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WWR Article Summary (tl;dr)Habits likes smoking or drinking too much can be tough to break but when you look at the cost (in dollars and cents) and of course health-wise you may be motivated to change your ways.

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Most people have a bad habit they’d like to break, but if you’re indulging in one of these expensive vices, you could face serious financial issues.

Along with monetary costs, most of these bad habits also have a negative impact on your health, in some cases, causing permanent physical harm and even death.

If you’re guilty of one or more of these three expensive vices and want to avoid permanent damage to your health, wallet and relationships, you might want to consider coming up with a plan to rid yourself of these habits. See exactly how much these guilty pleasures are costing you:

-Smoking: Life-threatening diseases and up to $10,625 per year

Cost over time: Smoking costs Americans $300 billion annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And then there’s the cost of cigarettes themselves, currently averaging $6.16 a pack. So for smokers with a pack-a-day habit, your vice costs another $2,248 annually. In New York City, a pack of Marlboro Lights will run you $13.88, or $5,066 annually for a pack a day.

Cost of related treatments: In the U.S., $170 billion in direct medical costs are spent for adult smokers and another $156 billion is wasted in lost productivity. So with 16 million smokers, that’s $10,625 per person in direct medical costs, plus $9,750 in lost production per person per year for a total of $20,375.

Increased insurance costs: Depending on where in the country you live, expect to pay up to 50 percent more for your health insurance. So if the insurance premium for a non-smoker is $300 per month, a smoker could expect to pay $450 monthly.